Dependents
by Evil Little Dog
Summary: Roy doesn't understand the dog. "Miss the Girl" universe; prequel to the main story.
1. Dependents

**Title:** Dependents

**Author:** S J Smith-Evil_Little_Dog

**Rating:** K+

**Disclaimer: **If I had a dollar for every time I wrote a disclaimer, I still wouldn't have enough money to buy FMA. *sniff*

**Summary: ** Roy doesn't understand the dog.

**Notes:** This takes place in the 'Miss the Girl' 'verse, but you don't have to read that series to understand what's happening.

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><p>Roy frowned down at the dog, staring up at him with liquid eyes. "What do you want?" he asked. Black Hayate, unfortunately, couldn't speak, but he did tilt his head slightly to the side.<p>

"Are you getting in my dog's way?" Riza asked, peering through the kitchen doorway at her man and her dog. Her dog wore a blue collar, accentuating his black fur and neat tan markings. Her man wore a pair of pajama bottoms clinging precariously to his hips, his hair still rumpled from bed.

"I don't see how," Roy said, the furrows in his brow deepening. "He's just sitting there, after all. And looking at me like he thinks he needs a t-r-e-a-t."

Studying her dog from the back, Riza took in the still tail, straight spine, and cocked head. "I don't think so."

"So, does he need to go out?"

"Ask him."

Roy narrowed his eyes at her, but asked the dog, "Do you want to go outside, Black Hayate?"

His ears tipped and his tail twitched.

"That's not it," Riza translated.

Roy twisted around. "He has water. Is it time for him to be fed?"

"Not for a few hours."

"Then why is he staring at me?" Roy asked, sounding almost anguished.

Riza knew it was an act. Roy's flare for the dramatic in private provided constant amusement for those who knew him personally, not just the Flame Alchemist. She picked up her cup, contemplating the steaming contents of the dark, rich coffee she could now afford to brew every day if she wanted. And then she looked over at the man she could now have in her bed. "Because he knows something you don't."

Roy focused on her rather than the dog for the first time this morning. Well, since they'd left their bed, Riza amended. "Something I don't know? What don't I know, Riza?" He folded his arms, accentuating the scar tissue left behind from the homunculus. They were both scarred up from their time serving their country. Riza didn't doubt they'd earn more scars before they retired. But Roy was waiting for an answer, his eyebrow climbing into his messy bangs.

Riza smiled into her cup. "That he'll have to share the floor soon."

"Share the floor? What does that mean, I'll have to sleep down there?" Roy got that anguished tone back in his voice. "Rizaaaaa," he whined.

She started counting mentally, wondering just how long it'd take for the cenz to drop. She reached 'three' before Roy turned white, grabbing the kitchen counter to stay upright. "You're – you mean – you're," he stammered out. "How? When?"

"You're an alchemist, I'm sure you know 'how'," Riza said. "As for the when, well, probably the night we spent in that cold, drafty room in Risembool."

"I'm going to be a father?" The smile splitting Roy's face made Riza smile, too. "Me, I'm going to be a dad!" Dodging Black Hayate, he rushed into the dining room to gather Riza in his arms, kissing her soundly. "You, you really are the best."

Riza hugged him back, tweaking his hair. "Just remember, babies can be harder to understand than dogs."

"Uh, huh," Roy said. The proud, dazed grin on his face let her know he didn't hear any of that. Oh, well. She had another seven months to drum it into his skull, how to deal with their little dependents.

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><p>~ <em>end<em> ~


	2. Raising Children

**Raising Children  
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><p>Outside, the wind blustered, dragging snow up and spinning it around like a favored dance partner. Frost rimed the windows, and curls of steam escaped open doors to be swallowed up by the cold.<p>

Inside The Blind Tiger, everything was warm, and whiskey flowed as quick as ice formed outside. Smoke wreathed the ceiling instead of whirling snow, and laughter chased away the cold at the door.

Riza Hawkeye accepted a cup of coffee from the bar's patron. "Thank you, Chris."

"You're welcome, dear." The bulky woman sat across from her, adjusting her jacket and slipping an ashtray from the next table over. "I'm just curious, are you worried about Maizy, being passed around like that?"

"She's had all her shots," Riza said, deadpan, "so if she bites, no one should get rabies."

Chris snorted, tapping ash off the end of her cigarette. "That's not the answer I'd expect, but I suppose since you raised your dog like a kid, maybe I should've."

Riza smiled in response, taking a sip of the coffee. "Black Hayate taught her to crawl. And to eat things she found on the floor. And he keeps her from falling down the stairs. He's good at blocking her way so she can't reach them."

"Better than a brother. Roy-boy once pushed a visiting toddler down."

"Not a staircase?" Maternal instincts kicked in at the thought of a child tumbling down a flight of stairs, and Riza sought out her husband to give him a glare. He didn't even notice, sharing a drink with Havoc. Maizy plucked Fuery's glasses off his face, and he carefully retrieved them. Ross beckoned that she wanted to hold Maizy next, while beside her, Brosch nursed a drink of his own. Armstrong almost glittered, where he sat next to Roy, watching Maizy with more care than her own father. And Breda wielded a camera, taking shots Riza had the feeling might wind up being used as blackmail at some point or another.

"No, no, just a stoop. Didn't hurt the tike at all, aside from feelings." Chris laughed with her raspy smoker's chuckle. "Roy-boy didn't like other kids stealing his attention, and the girls were cooing over the new kid."

"Hm, some things haven't changed much, have they?" Riza asked, shaking her head.

"Not really. He's just a little better at not acting on his jealousy now." Chris raised her voice. "Roy-boy! Send that baby over here. I wanna love on that child."

"Yes, Madam," he called back, and pointed at Fuery, still holding Maizy. Ross pouted, but perked up when Brosch handed her a beer.

Riza hid a smile. Just like kids. Sometimes, all it took was a little distraction, and everything worked out all right.


	3. Introductions

**Introductions  
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><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea?"<p>

"Black Hayate is going to be fine." Roy, on the other hand, Riza wasn't sure about. Their first day bringing Maizy home from the hospital, and he'd insisted on turning the bassinette into some sort of protective cage with his alchemy. It seemed like so much overkill to get Maizy from the hospital to their home, but then, so did riding in a wheelchair from her room down to the car, so Riza didn't say anything.

"You're sure?" Roy hovered around her, peering over her shoulder at Maizy, removed from her cage, and from her clothes.

"I'm positive," Riza told him.

Squatting down hurt too much, though; she just couldn't do it. The tears in her flesh from where Maizy bulled her way out of Riza's body refused to let her sit on the floor, which had been her original plan. Her almost inaudible grunt of pain made Black Hayate whine from where he sat, waiting where she'd told him to, his ears folding back against his head. He raised one paw, but otherwise, remained still. "Good boy," Riza told him.

"What'd I do?" Roy asked.

She refrained from rolling her eyes. "Sit on the floor, Roy, next to the couch." He frowned, opening his mouth, but Riza pointed. "Sit!"

Hastily planting his butt on the floor, he accepted Maizy when Riza handed her down. "Hello, beautiful girl," he crooned.

This time, she did roll her eyes. "Put her on the floor."

"But."

"Black Hayate needs to meet her, and not in your lap." Roy pouted but obeyed, laying Maizy on the floor, unwrapping the baby blanket from around her. "Just sit back, Roy," Riza said, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Winry told me this is how she introduced her son to her dog."

"Really? But." He eyed Black Hayate.

"Be quiet, put your hands in your lap, and sit still." When Roy obeyed, Riza smiled. "Black Hayate, come!"

He all but skipped across the room, tail wagging, tongue lolling, obviously happy to see her. His black nose twitched and he slowed his pace when Maizy let out a thin cry. Roy tensed under her hand, making Riza squeeze his shoulder. "Here, Black Hayate. You need to meet Maizy."

Black Hayate crept closer, nose wriggling, ears erect. He held his tail almost straight out behind him. The sound of him sniffing seemed incredibly loud.

"Shouldn't she have on clothes for this?" Roy murmured. "In case he bites?"

"He won't bite," Riza said firmly.

Taking the last few steps, Black Hayate had one paw on the blanket, the other paw lifted and curled against his chest. He stretched as far as he could, nose wriggling, and got a good whiff of Maizy. Plopping his butt to the floor, his tail curled up over his back again and he wagged it. He looked up at Riza, as if for instruction.

"You can touch her," Riza said, waving her hand, and Black Hayate stepped onto the blanket, sniffing Maizy all over, from the top of her fuzzy skull to the bottom of her tiny, wrinkled feet. Maizy complained about his wet nose a couple of times, but, otherwise, had no negative reaction. Black Hayate finished his nasal exploration of her by giving her face a lick that made her whine. He whined in return, the corners of his mouth turning up in the way that Riza knew either meant he was about to vomit, or he was happy. From the way his tail wagged, Riza knew it was the latter.

"So, everything's okay?" Roy asked.

"Of course," Riza said. "Isn't it, Black Hayate?"

Her dog barked in agreement, wagging his tail.

Really, so much easier to deal with than men.


End file.
